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Ralph Jordan

Prostate Cancer Survivor Shares Flip Side of Patient Chart

DUNEDIN—On Jan. 3, 2008, Ralph Jordan, a healthcare professional in his mid-sixties from Dunedin, became the first patient for a robotic-assisted prostatectomy at Florida Hospital’s Global Robotic Institute in Celebration. Six months earlier, a routine test had revealed an elevated PSA of 4.2. A biopsy followed; prostate cancer was detected and confirmed.

“I had broad knowledge and experience in operating room services (with) a strong emphasis in the areas of neurosurgical, ophthalmic, cardiovascular and orthopedic surgery,” admitted Jordan. “However, I didn’t have a clue about urology.”

A trusted friend of Jordan’s worked at John Hopkins Hospital’s Brady Urological Institute and had undergone prostate removal surgery via the daVinci robot. He assured Jordan the tumor would grow slowly, allowing him a window of time to research the best available cancer treatment options. After reading many published clinical papers on prostate cancer treatments and finding various approaches, Jordan decided to narrow his options by asking prospective specialists four questions:

1. After the procedure, can you say with certainty if the cancer was contained or had spread?

2. Following the procedure among your patients, what’s the incidence rate of incontinence and is that rate documented?

3. Among your patients post procedure, what’s the incidence rate of recovery from erectile dysfunction (ED), and is that rate documented?

4. May I contact as references a few of your patients who had the procedure performed at least a year earlier?

“Dr. Patel was the only clinician who I contacted that answered all these questions to my satisfaction,” said Jordan. “He was easy to reach via email and by phone and was very accommodating as it related to answering my questions. In my research, I found he was one of the most prolific and well-respected robotic surgeons in the country who specialized in removing the type of cancer I had.”

Jordan went one step further by contacting Intuitive Surgical, manufacturer of the DaVinci Robot, and spoke with their product manager and director of marketing, who corroborated and reinforced the information he had received from Patel. He also contacted Medtronics Corporation, which also worked with the DaVinci system on cardiovascular surgery cases. “There, too, I heard glorious words about Dr. Patel,” he recalled. “Finally, I spoke with some of his patients. That was most beneficial because they confirmed what everyone else had related to me.”

Three hours post-surgery and recovery room time, Jordan walked the hospital corridor. By the noon the following day, he was discharged from the hospital and spent a few days resting at home.

“There was no post-operative pain,” he said. “I found the catheter to be a bit bothersome, but tolerable. I went back to see Dr. Patel on Jan. 9 to have the catheter removed and learned that the cancer was completely contained and the margins were clear. I was cancer free. My prayers and those of my family and friends were answered. I was so relieved and happy. To make the day complete and to my obvious surprise after the catheter was removed, I was and am still, completely continent. As for ED, after 10 weeks since the surgery, there are signs and promise that I will be back to my old self, sexually, soon again.”

An update 11 months post-surgery: “it’s all good. There’s no question in my mind that robotic prostate surgery as performed by Dr. Patel and his staff is the singular way to achieve the best results without guesswork or complications. There’s no doubt that having Dr. Patel perform the surgery was one of the most important decisions that I’ve made in my life.”

To counsel and connect other prostate cancer patients, Jordan created the website VIPFriendsOnline.com.

“Ralph did very well with his surgery and now shows other prostate cancer patients that there’s a good quality of life after prostate surgery,” said Vipul Patel, MD, medical director of Florida Hospital’s Global Robotics Institute in Celebration. Patel recently topped the 4,000 mark for prostate removal robotic surgeries, the most by any surgeon worldwide.

Tags:

daVinci robot, Dr. Vipul Patel, Florida Hospital, Florida Hospital Celebration Health, Global Robotics Institute, Intuitive Surgical, Medtronics Corporation., Ralph Jordan

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